Etymologically
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neu

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Pronunciation

Forms

neu (strong nominative masculine singular neuer, comparative neuer, superlative am neuesten or am neusten)[1] Until the 17th century the word was usually written new, newer; the fuller neuw also occurs.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German niuwe, inherited from Old High German niuwi, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz (“new”).[3][1][4] The same word is Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 (niujis), Old Norse nýr, Old English nīwe, Old Saxon niuwi and Old Frisian nīe, and today Dutch nieuw, English new and Swedish ny.[3][5][1]

The Germanic adjective continues Proto-Indo-European *neu-jo- (“new”), an adjective with a j-suffix also found in Lithuanian naũjas, Old Irish núa and Welsh newydd.[3][5] Without the suffix the same word is Proto-Indo-European *néwos, seen in Ancient Greek νέος (néos), Latin novus, Russian новый (nóvyj) and Hittite newa-.[3][5][1] It may be a full-grade form of the adverb Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”) (see nun);[3][4][6] the Duden and Paul also connect neun.[7][8] The Old High German diphthong /iu/ arose from an original /e/ followed by /ww/.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German niuwi appears in glosses from about 765, in the Abrogans and in Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “new, young, fresh, inexperienced”, for Latin novus, recens and rudis.[9][10] Phrases include niuwēr māno “new moon” and diu niuwa ēwa “the New Testament”.[11]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German niuwe could also mean “fresh, renewing itself” and, of people, “changeable, fickle”.[5][12] Paul describes the modern range: first “just made”, then of things recently acquired or of a recent relationship (neuer Diener, neue Wohnung), “not yet used”, and the produce of the current year, as neuer Wein and neue Kartoffeln.[8] Fixed contrasts such as das Neue Testament, die Neue Welt and Neuzeit keep the name even for things that are very old.[8]

Many derivatives have their own histories: neulich goes back to Old High German niuwilīhho and has been used as an adjective since the 16th century; Neuling appears in the 15th century; and Neujahr meant a New Year's gift in the 16th century before it meant New Year's Day in the 17th.[5][7]

Timeline

  • c. 765 – Old High German niuwi appears in glosses.[10][3]
  • 9th century – niuwilīhho “recently”, the ancestor of neulich, is recorded.[5]
  • 15th century – Neuling “newcomer” appears.[5][7]
  • 1482 – The spelling neu is recorded in a German–Latin vocabulary, though new remains usual until the 17th century.[2]
  • 17th century – Neujahr is used for New Year's Day.[5][7]
  • 18th century – neuerdings “recently” is formed, on the model of allerdings.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. new: recently made, not yet used: neue Schuhe.[13][1]
  2. From the latest harvest: neue Kartoffeln.[13]
  3. Having come into being only recently, different from before: eine neue Frisur, die neueste Mode.[13][1]
  4. Having recently joined a group or position: neue Mitglieder, ich bin hier neu.[13]
  5. Not known before: ein neues Element, die neuesten Nachrichten.[13]
  6. Belonging to the present or the recent past, modern: in neuerer Zeit, die neueren Sprachen.[13][1]

Word family

  • erneuern
  • Neubau
  • Neuerung
  • Neugier
  • Neugierde
  • neugierig
  • Neuheit
  • Neuigkeit
  • Neujahr
  • neulich
  • Neuling
  • neumodisch
  • Neuzeit
  • neuern

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 644
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 654
  4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  7. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
  8. ^ a b c Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  9. ^ a b Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 6, 998
  10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  11. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 239
  12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  13. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag